NOTICES

Notice of Comments Issued

[33 Pa.B. 6473]

   Section 5(g) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5(g)) provides that the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (Commission) may issue comments within 30 days of the close of the public comment period. The Commission comments are based upon the criteria contained in section 5.2 of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5b).

   The Commission has issued comments on the following proposed regulation. The agency must consider these comments in preparing the final-form regulation. The final-form regulation must be submitted within 2 years of the close of the public comment period or it will be deemed withdrawn.

		Close of the
		Public	IRRC
		Comment	Comments
Reg. No.	Agency/Title	Period	Issued
7-385	Environmental Quality    Board Bond Adjustment and    Bituminous    Mine Subsidence    Control Standards	11/12/03	12/12/03
	(33 Pa.B. 4554 (September 13, 2003))

____

Environmental Quality Board Regulation No. 7-385

Bond Adjustment and Bituminous Mine Subsidence Control Standards

December 12, 2003

   We submit for consideration the following comments that include references to the criteria in the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5b) which have not been met. The Environmental Quality Board (EQB) must respond to these comments when it submits the final-form regulation. The public comment period for this regulation closed on November 12, 2003. If the final-form regulation is not delivered within 2 years of the close of the public comment period, the regulation will be deemed withdrawn.

Coordination of State and Federal final regulations.--Statutory authority; Implementation procedures.

   This rulemaking satisfies conditions set forth by the Federal Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM). Section 503(a) of the Federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (30 U.S.C.A. § 1253(a)) permits a state to assume primacy if its laws and regulations are consistent with Federal laws and regulations. The Commonwealth must meet these conditions to maintain primary enforcement authority over coal mining.

   The OSM initiated two rulemakings to assist the Commonwealth in this task. The first OSM rulemaking (68 FR 55134--55137 (December 27, 2001)) will supercede six portions of the Bituminous Mine Subsidence and Land Conservation Act (BMSLCA) (52 P. S. §§ 1406.1--1406.21) that are less effective than their Federal counterparts. The second OSM rulemaking (68 FR 55106--55134 (September 22, 2003)) seeks comments on the EQB's proposed regulations regarding the BMSLCA.

   The EQB's existing regulations were promulgated under the statutory authority of the BMSLCA and other Commonwealth statutes. We believe that the EQB does not have the statutory authority to promulgate this regulation until the first OSM rulemaking is in effect. Promulgation of the EQB's rulemaking before the relevant portions of the BMSLCA are superceded by the first OSM rulemaking would result in a conflict between the EQB's regulations and the BMSLCA. Therefore, we recommend that the EQB does not deliver this rulemaking in its final-form until the first OSM rulemaking has been finalized.

JOHN R. MCGINLEY, Jr.,   
Chairperson

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 03-2468. Filed for public inspection December 26, 2003, 9:00 a.m.]

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